August 16, 2014 – I was very fortunate to witness DLSU Harlequin Theatre Guild’s talent and creativity as they manifested it through their 4 plays 1 show created by its own members to raise awareness in climate change through surrealism and dystopian depiction. The play was titled, “Juan Day”, shown at William Shaw Little Theater.

The play unfastens with “Ang Paglilitis”. Terra, or Mother Nature is being trialed in court due to her alleged contribution to different deaths and catastrophes that hit the country. This one-scene play simply told the audience that all tragedies were due to Terra being pushed to her limits when she gets unappreciated. The cast was euphoric and very enjoyable to watch as each portrayed their roles flawlessly.

The second play was dubbed “Chatroom” where Adel and Kleo, a couple who battles the cold weather due to climate change is celebrating their 5th anniversary online. They are separated as the cold weather would not permit them to meet and going outside would mean risking their lives. Several emotions and behaviors are shown when the two chat as the supporting actors did an extraordinary job on acting. Not only was it humorous but also witty as the time was set in the future when frankly, conditions like theirs can be possible if we neglect the sudden temperature changes and/or drops in our environment today.

The third play, “The Cabin”, is about three lucky passengers; Rodney, a photographer; Tim, a businessman; and Miguel, and ex-convict who get aboard a cruise ship with only the basic necessities for survival. The three try to make the most out of their prize by asking too much of the stewardess’ assistance. As the short moves on, they demand too much from the stewardess and insist several things from her while she responds that not much should be wanted as what was provided was the supplies in order to live. It was very entertaining because of the song dance numbers but was also heavy as it reminded the audience that we only need the basics in order to live and need not to want more.

Last of the four was “GAIA Disposal Agency”, where doctors perform a costly gene modification on babies in a clinic. Emily, the protagonist, is near her birthing period but is faced with financial problems. If she fails to pay the price for her baby modification, she has to surrender her infant to the agency where she works. The ending was obvious though I liked the fact that it had a sci-fi touch to its plot that separated it from the other three plays. This short depicts humanity’s thirst for perfection as well as destruction.

In general, “Juan Day” has managed to exceed my expectations (it being the first legit college play I have watched) as it sent a clear message to the audience where climate change is a growing problem that need not to be neglected. What is spectacular about NOW and what we can do NOW in order to help our environment, is that we have another one tomorrow. The play was realistic, comical, witty, and slaps you in the face for being so ignorant all these years. I left the theater with a smile on my face but also awareness in my temples.

The crowd roars for the whole cast of Juan Day

*The photos are mine unless otherwise specified.

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]]>https://amielsanchez.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/what-if-juan-day/feed/1izzasanchezGrabbed from https://www.facebook.com/dlsuhtgCSC_1112CSC_1111CSC_1117DSC_1119DSC_1121DSC_1125DSC_1126The crowd roars for the whole cast of Juan DayPhilosophy In Animal Advocacieshttps://amielsanchez.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/philosophy-in-animal-advocacies/
https://amielsanchez.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/philosophy-in-animal-advocacies/#commentsSun, 24 Aug 2014 18:07:58 +0000http://amielsanchez.wordpress.com/?p=80Continue reading →]]>Last August 15, Friday, I was lucky to have attended a lecture on the “Philosophy In Animal Advocacies” at Teresa Yuchengco Auditorium that featured three of De La Salle University-Manila’s very own, exploring different philosophical wonders in animal advocacies.

As there were three parts of the lecture, I would like to express my thoughts and opinions in fragments. Personally, these were unlike the ordinary talks I’d hear from anywhere, as the speakers were emotionally and philosophically inclined to what they were presenting. I had witnessed not only value but also dedication in their advocacies.

Explicitly, I want to focus my entry on the awareness on ‘Animal Cruelty’. At present, vast numbers of perpetrators are involved in these crimes yet the law sees them blindly.

In an introduction of Ms. Laureen Velasco’s dialogue, she mentioned a brief history of how animals are used and seen in society pointing out that some philosophers believed that animals have no emotions while others like Locke argued that animals conversed in their own way possible. Velasco then showed the crowd various pictures of animal cruelty namely animals used for entertainment, laboratory testing, profit, and amusement through torture. After seeing the photos that flashed in front of us, I was lost for words.

I was deeply saddened by the fact that humans treat animals viciously. What were supposed to be stewards of the earth become dictators, rulers, and never nurturers. The photos made me realize that even I, was cruel to these gifts from God since I do not raise awareness in order to save them from their misery. We often bury our heads in the sand saying, “I don’t want to know” and this inaction makes abusers continue their evil deeds. That is why; Velasco ended her dialogue with different advocacies fighting for animal rights. A spark of hope ignited within me knowing that there are still people out there who are willing to fight until each one of these beastly but beautiful creatures are freed from hell.

On the other hand, we can help advocate animal rights through our own little and ordinary ways. It doesn’t have to be radical, like Dr. Hazel Biana who saved a cat she named Tango and helped the cat find a home. Biana introduced Peter Singer to the listeners on the earlier part of her discourse. Singer is a champion on approaching animal ethics.

“While Singer believes that the interests of both humans and nonhumans should be considered, and that we should generally make decisions that advance the preferences and decrease the pain for the greatest number, he does not speak in terms of individual rights for any beings, human or nonhuman. This opens the door to the idea that under the right circumstances, it is acceptable to use others as a means to an end, even if such use involves taking the other’s life.” -http://www.humanemyth.org

Biana shared that Singer’s book, “Animal Liberation”, continues to aid the people to remember how badly we treat animals today. Biana also shares feminist animal rights theories and its connection to emotions. She mentioned Josephine Donovan, Margaret Fuller, and Carol Adams; all who argue that animals are treated not purely because we pity them or of sentiment but because of justice that leads us to redeeming and caring for them. Biana ends her discourse on the choice of choice, when faced and given with it, we should know which one we should choose and which opportunities we can take for the greater good of animals.

Last but definitely not the least was Dr. Beverly Sarza’s lecture on how we can promote animal advocacies in the form of art and representations. She presented symbolic representations like how doves can symbolize hope, how bird feces can create art and substance depending on the viewer’s imagination, how feathers were once a world renowned fashion statement that lead to extinction of some very large number of birds, and how we can relay art as a direct punch in the face through paintings. “…in the United States alone… 267; voiceless chickens who are being slaughtered per second” Sarza on ending her talk.

To sum up, the lecture I attended was very eye opening. I believe it ignited awareness to everyone present in the auditorium, as it was not only insightful but very heart wrenching to watch. We are animals ourselves but we do not treat each other in a horrible manner. Shouldn’t we do the same to animals? Shouldn’t we at least give back a little from their service and love of us?

“But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you; And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.” – Job12:7

This post was inspired by the Philosophy In Animal Advocacies lecture held at DLSU TYA.

Last week, we finished watching a mind-boggling film by out-of-his-mind director Christopher Nolan. Basically, Memento revolves around Leonard Shelby who suffers a condition where building and grasping onto new memories is nearly impossible. The last thing he remembers is his wife’s murder prior to his head accident leading to short-term memory loss. The film’s narrative backtracks Shelby’s recollections while another moves forward in time. Generally, the movie’s complexity required a person to be in the right mind in order to understand the muddled sequences of Shelby’s mind.

Leonard Shelby and his condition

Going back to my earlier statement, I was lost. The movie ended with Shelby saying and I quote, “Where was I”. I ended the whole film lost and with great awe. I was lost for words; lost in my thoughts whether I was experiencing another inception and deception of reality, lost in the truth behind our memories. However, I regained consciousness when the questions that I formulated and based from the movie were answered established from my own resolutions. Throughout the duration of the whole film, I was able to devise four questions and I would like to share with you the two good (and sensible) ones.

Can you trust your memories to provide you assuring details if not exact ones?

This is basic, the answer is simple and with conviction, a NO. We don’t need a mental illness to forget things all the time, that’s just the way the nature of our brain works. We know for a fact that our memories are faulty reconstructions of our experiences susceptible to other influences inside our brain such as emotions, goals, philosophies, and ideas. They are hardwired to let you remember something but never exact points and details of a particular event. You may remember your fifth birthday but never the shoe color of your best friend who attended your party. Or, you may remember your first ice cream flavor but never the dress or shirt you wore on that specific day.

Correspondingly, retrieval of memories may have altered occurrences. As what Sara Adaes, PhD student, wrote in one of her blog entries, “…. what is retrieved from memorycan be substantially different from what was initially encoded, and what was encoded can also differ from what really happened.” Memories are never stable. They differ each time you revert yourself into remembering things. We tend to mash different experiences all at once in our heads into one giant blurry memory. The more we distinguish and separate one memory from the other, the more we tend to jumble up most if not all aspects of each. We can later replay memories in our head, however, some parts would glitch and cease to exist. To make it simpler, it’s like an “it’s on the tip of my tongue” familiarity that you never got yourself familiar with.

We need to remind ourselves that memories are faulty

In conclusion, even our memories can be very deceiving. Even our memories can lie to us despite them being a part of ourselves. It’s up to us if we rely entirely upon our own discretion for information that satisfies us. This leads us to my next question:

Do we lie to ourselves to be happy?

Ponder on this: How many times have you made yourself believe that you’re ‘still’ good enough for other individuals? How many times have you made yourself believe that you can do what they do and not feel insecure about yourself? Countless times, I guess. We all lie to ourselves in order to feel contentment and satisfaction. We lie because we are human. We all do this and there’s nothing sinful with that. It is absolute human nature and lying is an ingenuous natural trickery that we inflict upon ourselves.

Moreover, we lie to ourselves in order to gain some meaning and purpose in life. This becomes our loophole in making ourselves believe that we are currently “happy”. We seek happiness and make up our own truth as we have dominion and total control over our own judgement. Our happiness then becomes dependent on how we shape our reality and on how we want to see it. People often tend to make up their own truth when the real truth doesn’t jive with their perspective of delight.

Quoting Justin Tadlock in one of his online entries, “In the scheme of the world, we all do not want to see the truth, since the truth would change who we are, and it would take away our purpose for being. We lie to ourselves to keep going, to keep living day to day. Our lies are who we are, and we do not want to lose our sense of self. Since our identity is built around the lies that we tell ourselves, we have nothing to look for outside of the meaning that these lies represent.”

I strongly agree with Tadlock’s argument since the walls we surround ourselves namely concocted realities make us attain and firmly hold onto a goal we desperately desire in life. These lies become vital in our day-to-day practices as it becomes our motivation to continue and enhance ourselves. These are small realisms we create to be pleased.

However, does it mean that we never let ourselves face the truth of reality and how it really hits us in the face? As mentioned in my earlier discourse, it is mainly up to us if we want to rely on these fictitious assertions. We can, and can’t believe what we tell ourselves. It is somewhat an inception where we tell ourselves lies and believe those lies when we know what the truth is and that what we’re telling ourselves are bended and stretched actualities.

To sum up, our memories are faint retentions of what the mind chooses to keep. We can recall previous experiences in our past although it may not provide us accuracy. Memories may create an impression, reverse a judgment and provide material.

“Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking and pondering, that becomes the inclination of his awareness.”

― Gautama Buddha

*This entry is inspired by the film, Memento and the view of Buddhist metaphysics on mind and happiness.

Last July 24, I was lucky to have attended one of Dr. Thomas Pegelow Kaplan’s lecture for our INTFILO alternative class. The discourse Dr. Kaplan, a fellow from Davidson College, shared with Lasallians was entitled, “’We Must Name Genocide Genocide’: Left-Wing Protest Movements, Transnational Imageries of Mass Murder, and the Remaking of Memory in West Germany and the United States, 1951-1983”.

To be frank, he gave a lengthy dialogue with minimal pauses and mentioned terms I have never encountered making the whole talk ‘heavy’ for me. However, I managed to understand at least some, if not all, points of his lecture. What captured my attention (and I’m sure this also captured yours) was the word “genocide”. Genocide is the deliberate killing of a specific ethnic group or nation, and according to most history books, this word spread like wildfire during the Hitler regime where Jews were facing mass extinction under Hitler. Dr. Kaplan succeeded in shedding a light on this point since what I know about the Holocaust, Nazis and in that field of matter was verified by his lecture. I would not go into deeper detail regarding the precise dates and proceedings as I would like to share with you my discernment on the speaker’s talk.

For one, Dr. Kaplan mentioned that scores of Jews were killed in gas chambers installed at extermination camps in Auschwitz. This made me feel uneasy since after having experience watching Holocaust documentaries, I know what he was talking about. It was repulsive. Gestapo, or the German police under the Nazi rule, would send Jews to concentrations camps. They would let the Jews labor and starve to death; survivors or remaining Jews would then be stripped off of their garments and be strained to go in these constricted chambers forced to inhale whatever gas is present. The fact that they were Jews separated them from being ‘human’. Gruesome as it may sound, this was a piece of the very dark history Jews met. Dr. Kaplan explored a great deal on this point and expounded that genocide should not only be referred to the Holocaust episode but also other events eradicating individuals.

One of Auschwitz’s gas chambers where presumably 500-1000 Jews were constrained

Consequently, what I have absorbed is that genocide or mass murder had three main outlets: political protest, memory, and visual-non-visual languages. I am unsure of the latter but I would like to emphasize my argument on the former: political protest and memory. Genocide is a protest of sorts because it exhibits violence. Not only is it an instrument for political propaganda but it can also be a weapon used for mass destruction. Dr. Kaplan varied interpretations regarding this through citing SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) protests or resistance, the People Power Revolution under Marcos government, and massacres during the Vietnam War. Likewise, genocide correlates with memory since it becomes a tool for populaces to annihilate what is remaining of a race, and that is the memory. Through genocide, another race can integrate into another its culture, influences and such since the memory of the original no longer exists. Activism also coincided with genocide during the height of crimes involving this subject when the mass decided to oppose this kind of protest and violence which then lead to obstruction of the greater parts of Western Europe. As I deduce it to my own understanding, genocide is power. Once power falls into the wrong hands, the damage is irreversible.

I came into realization that genocide during the Holocaust stretch was beyond our own understanding. If we look deeper inside Hitler’s mind, we can never decipher why he started this mass murder. Whether it be political reasons or personal intentions, the truth now lies with him in his grave. I apologize for my opinions since I based genocide mainly on its most popular example. I do not intend to force you to believe what I do but this was what came out of my own grasp the moment Dr. Kaplan shared his research with us.

Hitler, a face of tyranny

In summary, Dr. Kaplan’s talk last Thursday was heavy but very eye-opening and enlightening. I found a hard time understanding it at first but when he broke his research into parts, I started to regain consciousness.

This reaction post was stimulated by Dr. Thomas Pegelow Kaplan’s ‘We Must Name Genocide Genocide’: Left-Wing Protest Movements, Transnational Imageries of Mass Murder, and the Remaking of Memory in West Germany and the United States, 1951-1983′.

Until, a being came into existence out of the clashing darkness. Imagine the very fabric of anonymity opposing each other against a battle no one will win. He was called “A”.

“A” was standing in blackness; he saw nothing but the mere reflections of light that came from his eyes and onto his ethereal build. He wandered about. He blew air through his nose and noticed that the air that came from him rippled the light that glimmered from his eyes.

He blew through his nose with great force that the light from his eyes glittered across the powerful air and created a huge ball of fire and brightness that illuminated the void. He called this the “Sun”. It emitted light so much that “A” was mesmerized by it and decided to touch its rays. He burned his hands in the process and pieces of his burnt spirit fell into the void. Since “A” was filled with curiosity and innocence, he chased the burnt pieces of his spirit and the speed he made created the framework for time.

Meanwhile, the pieces of his burnt spirit swiveled so fast while hurdling through space that it turned to asteroids, comets and meteorites that we now know of. Most of its colors are red, amber, brown or grey because these colours resemble the skin of “A”.

“A” grew tired of chasing so he decided to rest for a moment. He noticed that even if he sat with his legs on top of the other, he continued to fall from the void. Thus he decided to counter that force by blowing strong air through his mouth and under his feet. The hefty ether made “A”, the asteroid, comets, meteorites and the Sun halt to a position. “A” accidentally created gravitational fields for each. That is why; the Sun has a stronger gravitational field than ours because it was closer to “A” before the creation of our world.

“A” rested for decades until he regained his energy back. He witnessed the beauty of his creation but was not satisfied. He still felt empty. Hence, from the luminescence of his eyes, he removed his rheum/eye crusts and flicked them across the Sun. These eye crusts slightly burned radiant and they fell into orbit as they skimmed across the Sun. These formed the stars the twinkled in the night sky.

Witnessing the splendor of the tiny little stars he created, he realized what use would it be if it has nothing to shine its glow upon. So from his skin, he pinched a little. From his tears, he scooped a drop. He held these two materials in his hands and blew into them. He divided them in uneven portions and rolled them into balls. “A” threw them across the universe and formed the planets. Some went near the Sun because of the Sun’s strong gravity while the others flung far away. That is why, we only recognize eight planets because these eight were the ones who held onto the Sun’s warmth and strength.

“A” gave himself compliments for his creation for they were good. However, he noticed a planet that was somehow bare. It was filled with water, mountains and vast stretch of lands. Although it manifested glorious landscapes, “A” felt that this planet deserves someone to take care of it. So out of his own blood, hair, and nails, he fashioned what he called ‘human beings’. He did not form them into his image and likeness but into something more majestic than his.

He gave them a part of his spirit so that they could live and think. “A” wanted them to not only survive in this planet but also live, as they want it. Noticing that the humans were fine with his creation and existed through the waters and land, he decided to also give them the gift of religions so that they may believe in him, their creator. “A” began to grow weak when he was almost on the verge of giving them the religions. The signals “A” sent through the transmitters in the humans’ brains at different parts of the world were feeble. That is why, humans received different interpretations of religions and formed altered beliefs from them.

“A” was sad on how things turned out. Humans became intellectual but divided. Out of sadness, “A’s” eyes started to fill with darkness instead of the usual luminescent glow. His ethereal self started to crumble. “A” grew weaker and weaker as centuries passed so he decided to store himself in the Sun. He knew leaving humans alone and curious would leave them destroying each other but he had no choice. It was either him decaying and exploding into destructive matter, or the humans living. He had no choice.

At his last bit of power, he created everything that the humans might need. “A” loved them so much that he imparted with them more stars, comets, and other celestial bodies to wonder upon. “A” knew that this would make them search for what is out there. “A” knew that this would make them search for him.

He also devised other celestial beings with human-like abilities. They would be the guardians of the universe, specially guardians of the humans. That is why; aliens or unidentified flying objects visit us as a sign of checking on us and guiding us through history. Evidently, the aliens manifested their guidance when we built the pyramids and when they left crop circles for us to remember their presence.

Even in weakness, “A” thought of us. He began to quickly store himself inside the Sun before he exploded. Thus, the Sun provided us life and warmth through billions of years because that is “A” still taking care of us even after his great fall.

]]>https://amielsanchez.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/a-intfilo-creation-story/feed/2izzasanchezhttp://www.bbc.com/news/health-18061174http://thewatch.watchfinder.co.uk/timeless/time-in-spacehttp://7dexter7.deviantart.com/art/Asteroids-In-Space-277718728http://www.gosunstove.com/true-power-of-sun/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star#mediaviewer/File:Starsinthesky.jpghttp://sci.esa.int/plato/53708-searching-for-exoplanetary-systems/http://www.oilpaintingfactory.com/english/oil-painting-96571.htmhttp://www.examiner.com/article/left-brain-right-brain-increase-your-mental-toughness-by-exercising-your-brainhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/ufo/9653499/UFO-enthusiasts-admit-the-truth-may-not-be-out-there-after-all.htmlhttp://www.ahdimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/sun-animated-gif-6.gifIntroduction: Starting with an oxymoronhttps://amielsanchez.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/entry-1-starting-with-an-oxymoron/
https://amielsanchez.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/entry-1-starting-with-an-oxymoron/#respondFri, 23 May 2014 12:22:06 +0000http://amielsanchez.wordpress.com/?p=10Continue reading →]]>The first term kicked off last May 21, year 2014. What more than to start my new life as a college student with oxymorons? Here’s a short literary overview of how my first two days as a Chemistry major at De La Salle University – Manila (DLSU-M) went: